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my horse is lame when turning only - please help!

my horse is lame when he turns on a tight circle but it seems to be both ways but not on the straight does anyone have any ideas what this could be and if i am ok to ride him? he is 14 so does this come with age? thanks

Re: my horse is lame when turning only - please help!

Has he always been like this in the time u've had him? Could be many reasons for it ... mine was sound on a straight line and slightly lame on a circle due to a chipped navicular bone but the more work he does the sounder he looks ... checked him the other day and he looked completely sound compared to hobbling in a circle at christmas!

Re: my horse is lame when turning only - please help!

Originally Posted by csmith

my horse is lame when he turns on a tight circle but it seems to be both ways but not on the straight does anyone have any ideas what this could be and if i am ok to ride him? he is 14 so does this come with age? thanks

It could be anything from arthritis to a bruised foot- you should get the vet.

No, it is not ok to ride a lame horse. Lameness means pain and it is unacceptable to ride a horse in pain. Riding could also make the problem worse.

On a turn the horse carries more weight on the inside limbs compared to on a straight line. More weight on a painful limb = more lameness.

I suggest getting the vet out to look at your horse asap and in the meantime dont ride.

Re: Lame when turning a circle - please help

My Charlie was like that last year, lame in a circle, but not on a straight line when trotted up. Had the vet out to him, went for a lamness workup. He was bilaterally lame on both front He had also been misbehaving when been schooled, which I now also realize that that was he way of saying, help me i hurt. I would get your vet out to check this out. I wish now that I had listenned to Charlie earlier rather than later.